Hey Monday

l e a v i n g

-ellen-

Dear mom, dad, and Joey,

thanks for being a mediocre family. I appreciate the RV, even though I had to pay for half of it, which is a sucky deal if you ask me. It's supposed to be a birthday GIFT, after all, but whatever. Too late to negotiate now.

The time is five-thirteen AM, ten minutes until I turn eighteen. I told you guys I was leaving at noon, but at about 3 AM last night, I changed my mind. I'm leaving the minute that I become a legal adult. Noah is waiting outside right now, and you guys are all sleeping, which is for the best.

mom- I wish that you made an effort to understand my life. You never even tried to grasp why I was so eager to leave, you didn't get why I was unhappy here. News flash- it's because of you and dad.

dad- you were okay, aside from never being home. I don't care about your stupid job, I'm your daughter and you should pay more attention to me. Do you care that I graduated a year early? Do you care that I got straight As until senior year? Do you care that I was the captain of the soccer team for three years? Of course not. But, like always, you should expect me to get over it.

Joey- you were a pretty good brother, for being ten years old you weren't that annoying. Keep it up.

Don't expect to hear from me anytime soon.

-Ellen Grace Wilson

I capped my pen and set it down on the kitchen counter next to the note and a birthday cake that I had baked myself. How pathetic is that? What kind of eighteen-year-old bakes her own birthday cake?

A neglected one, I suppose.

I was a big believer in tradition. Since I was born at 5:23, I had decided to leave at 5:23. When I explained this to my best friend and chauffeur, Noah, he had argued and asked for the departure time to be later in the day. But if anything, I'm stubborn, so I firmly held my ground until he gave in.

At first, Noah didn't even want to do this. "An RV? Across America? It'll be nearly impossible, we can't do it alone." he had complained.

But I looked that boy in the eye and told him, "I'm not saying it'll be easy. I'm saying it'll be worth it."

That shut him right up.

I drummed my fingers against the counter and looked around my house for what might be the final time. The old cabinets were squeaky, the fridge was dirty, the paint was chipped. I hated it all. The house I had purchased in Maine would be so much better, or at least I hoped.

5:14.

The town I was going to was called "Monday". Who wouldn't want to live in a town called Monday? It sounded artsy and cool, probably with bookstores and cafès on every street corner.

5:15.

Everyone had expected me to go to college, probably because I was so smart. That wasn't true though- I just remembered stuff. Facts, numbers, useless formulas- they just stuck in my brain. Rather convienient, actually.

But, surprise, I had declared that I would not be going to college. Not in a year, not in two, maybe not ever. I was perfectly fine with working at McDonald's for the rest of my life. I was just that kind of easygoing person, for the most part.

5:16.

I sighed and looked at the list that I had started last night at about 3:18. It was an important list; one that would be my road map to happiness. A bucket list.

Number one on the list was make a crazy memory. Easy enough, right?

Number twenty-six was have a wild animal eat out of my hand. Still doable.